Spoilers DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by Kertrats47, Dec 7, 2014.

?

Rate The Collectors

  1. Outstanding

    36 vote(s)
    56.3%

  2. Above Average

    20 vote(s)
    31.3%

  3. Average

    5 vote(s)
    7.8%

  4. Below Average

    1 vote(s)
    1.6%

  5. Poor

    2 vote(s)
    3.1%
Page 1 of 9
  1. Kertrats47

    Kertrats47 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    May 3, 2010
    Location:
    Alberta, Canada
    [​IMG]​

    The much-anticipated (by me, anyway!) continuation of the Department of Temporal Investigations series! This one is an e-book exclusive novella, a little shorter than the usual novels. Release date: December 8th.

    The blurb follows:

     
    Kertrats47, Dec 7, 2014
    #1
  2. nickyboy

    nickyboy Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2005
    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    My copy was waiting for me on my iPad this morning when I woke up. Read a third of it during my morning commute. Fun and enjoyable so far.
     
    nickyboy, Dec 7, 2014
    #2
  3. Kertrats47

    Kertrats47 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    May 3, 2010
    Location:
    Alberta, Canada
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    Also, I have to make a note: I hope Sho doesn't mind that I went ahead and created the poll!
     
    Kertrats47, Dec 8, 2014
    #3
  4. Enterprise1701

    Enterprise1701 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2014
    Location:
    Sol III, Sector 001, 2063 C.E.
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    Odd. The iBooks entry says that the release date is December 8th, but I have already found it accessible today the 7th.

    the Redheri auctioned a vortex manipulator? :lol::lol::lol::techman::techman::techman:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eqnml1VO7s
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2014
    Enterprise1701, Dec 8, 2014
    #4
  5. Idran

    Idran Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Apr 17, 2011
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    I just finished this, and it was a great eBook; I had no idea what to expect, but this was amazing. It has some really insightful commentary on late-24th-century Federation policy, some things that I'd always had floating around in my head that CLB put into words extremely well.

    And I'm pretty sure anything with a Borg dinosaur by definition can't be bad.
     
    Idran, Dec 8, 2014
    #5
  6. Ronald Held

    Ronald Held Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 21, 2005
    Location:
    On the USS Sovereign
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    I did not remember about this one. Time to buy it and get it downloaded.
     
    Ronald Held, Dec 8, 2014
    #6
  7. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Christopher, Dec 8, 2014
    #7
  8. Markonian

    Markonian Fleet Admiral Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2012
    Location:
    Derbyshire, UK
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    I know I'm easily impressed. So this book was like almost like an overdose.

    It showed me all the place I've always been fantasizing to see but never dared it would actually appear in ST.

    Also, I missed the characters. I was a little bit disappointed that Garcia and Ranjea got parts in the beginning and end of Forgotten History only, but here they get to shine and move forward with their personal development again.

    The only thing coming out of thin air was the Tormandar in the beginning, but I'm sure the annotations will clear the mystery. Now let's delve into that...
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2014
    Markonian, Dec 8, 2014
    #8
  9. Deranged Nasat

    Deranged Nasat Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2009
    Location:
    ...But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it compl
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    You forgot pictures! :devil:

    [​IMG]
     
    Deranged Nasat, Dec 8, 2014
    #9
  10. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    ^ :lol:

    Seriously, nobody click that spoiler until you've read the story.
     
    Christopher, Dec 8, 2014
    #10
  11. Paper Moon

    Paper Moon Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2011
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    This was fantastic, a really really enjoyable read. Had the feel of a Doctor Who romp, but in a more naturalistic setting. So imaginative! Would love to see more Trek like this.

    (Oh my God, if Trek XIII were something like this, I would die.)

    It had a great, hmm, magical feel to it– no, that's not quite right... it had a great wonder to it. Very much a story that stands in delighted awe at the imaginable universe.

    Was very impressed at how balanced the story was. The moment Deranged Nasat has so delightfully illustrated might've been botched in its execution, but it really worked here.

    (It reminds me of moments from Before Dishonor that I liked but that I know others didn't.)

    Wonderful read. I hope you get more opportunities to write like this, Christopher, whether for DTI or other series!
     
    Paper Moon, Dec 9, 2014
    #11
  12. nickyboy

    nickyboy Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2005
    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    Really enjoyed it. I hope there are more adventures for the DTI!!
     
    nickyboy, Dec 9, 2014
    #12
  13. Annorax

    Annorax Lieutenant Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2005
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    Loved it. I'd pay good money to get a DTI novella every month or two.

    Was I just dreaming, or did you put the...

    Quantum Mirror from SG1: There But For The Grace of God

    ...into the vault? Love that stuff.

    edit: spoiler tag HAS to have a description? okay then.
     
    Annorax, Dec 9, 2014
    #13
  14. drc

    drc Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2004
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    Really enjoyed this book. A great blend of action and weird concepts.

    The only problem I had was that there were two bad transitions in my Kindle edition (On Kindle Cloud Reader and my iPhone) where you can't tell at first that the scene has changed. One is at location 1047 in Chapter 8, when Dulmer says "April 11, 1868." There should have been space above that to tell you the scene has changed. I forget where the other one was, but it was a similar cliffhanger-type scene switch that wasn't clear.
     
    drc, Dec 9, 2014
    #14
  15. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    Wow, that's marvelous to hear. Thanks!


    There are always possibilities...


    Something loosely inspired by it, yes. Along with other Easter eggs.


    I'd like to know what the other one was, and if anyone else has had the same problems, so I can notify my editor.
     
    Christopher, Dec 9, 2014
    #15
  16. drc

    drc Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Dec 3, 2004
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    The second spot might be intentional. It appears to be Location 1394, in Chapter 11, when the director says "it's time for the animals to take over this zoo."

    The very next line, with no space, is:

    "It's the TIA," Noi said. "They've followed us."
     
    drc, Dec 9, 2014
    #16
  17. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    ^No, that's a mistake too. Thanks.

    EDIT: Hmm, those are both scene breaks without location headings, and there are only a few of those in the novella. Could you confirm whether there are scene breaks in the following places:

    Ch. 2 just after "Then a bolt of lightning speared him through the back."

    Ch. 3 just after "The artifacts of Eris are not to be trifled with."

    Ch. 6 just after "then what are you still doing in this job?"

    Ch. 7 just after "Because the other possibility is that they’re dead."
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2014
    Christopher, Dec 9, 2014
    #17
  18. Deranged Nasat

    Deranged Nasat Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2009
    Location:
    ...But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it compl
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    This one was definitely a lot of fun. It was great to see Dulmur and Lucsly, Garcia and Ranjea, again, and to learn some more about characters like Noi and Daniels. Further insight into how all the parties and organizations involved in monitoring time work in context with one another was also appreciated; the DTI is ever more fascinating the more we explore it. It's great to have a non-Starfleet agency of the Federation so well defined.

    I agree; this one was a real treat. Seeing how the Federation will/might develop over the next few centuries is intriguing and the depiction satisfying. There's a lot of scope and content successfully delivered in a compressed space, without straining against the boundaries.

    I just love these glimpses of the future. Everyone breeding with one another, so many familiar and new faces, snippets of historical events yet to come - it's all really satisfying.

    This was definitely one of the better e-book novellas.
     
    Deranged Nasat, Dec 9, 2014
    #18
  19. Markonian

    Markonian Fleet Admiral Moderator

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2012
    Location:
    Derbyshire, UK
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    I just checked all those passages. After those lines a new line starts but there's no space to highlight it's a new section. I missed some of them during reading because the dialog continued logically, e.g. when G. says something and the director declares it's unfortunate.
     
    Markonian, Dec 9, 2014
    #19
  20. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2001
    Re: DTI: The Collectors by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread (Spoil

    ^Thanks. I've just notified my editor. Hopefully this can be fixed promptly.
     
    Christopher, Dec 9, 2014
    #20
Page 1 of 9